PAM. 

MISC. 


Reasons 

FOR  THE 

Mission  Study  Class 


Published  by  the  Domestic  and  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Prot¬ 
estant  Episcopal  Church, 

381  Fourth  Avenue, 

New  York 


No.  3020 


‘2M.  S.  P.  Nov.  '08. 


Missions  the  Most  Important 
Subject  on  Earth 

Foe,  the  world,  the  carrying  out  or 
the  neglect  of  Christ’s  mis¬ 
sionary  plan  means  the  differ¬ 
ence  between  having  the  whole 
of  the  human  race  or  about  one-third  of 
it  working  with  the  spiritual  uplift  and 
power  that  the  message  of  Christ  gives. 

Eor  the  individual  it  means,  speaking 
broadly,  the  difference  between  love  and 
fear  as  a  life  motive,  between  doubt  and 
a  joyful  certainty  of  life’s  goal. 

For  God  it  means  (1)  whether  His 
children  who  know  Him  love  Him 
enough  to  obey  Him,  and  (2)  whether 
the  children  who  need  Him  are  given  the 
chance  to  know  Him. 

Mission  Study  a  Logical  Necessity 

The  word  ^‘missions”  stands  for  our 
way  and  our  share  in  giving  the  mes¬ 
sage  of  God  to  men,  women  and  chil¬ 
dren  who  have  a  right  to  know  it. 

Concerning  missions  there  are  these 
possibilities — either  they  succeed  or  they 
do  not.  It  is  a  question  of  fact.  And 
if  missions  do  not  succeed  it  is  either 


because  there  is  something  wrong  with 
the  way  they  are  administered  and  sup¬ 
ported  or  because  they  cannot  succeed  in 
any  case. 

Take  up  these  suppositions  one  by  one: 

1.  If  missions  do  not  succeed  be¬ 
cause  they  cannot,  we  must  stop  them. 
But  to  stop  them  we  must  know  about 
them  in  order  to  prove  their  failure  to 
many  enthusiasts  who  believe  in  them. 
Therefore  you  must  study. 

2.  If  missions  do  not  succeed  be¬ 
cause  they  are  inadequately  supported  or 
unwisely  administered,  we  must  make 
changes.  But  wise  reforms  cannot  be 
planned  in  ignorance  of  the  conditions, 
and  all  new  measures  must  be  urged  by 
intelligent  advocates.  Therefore,  again 
we  must  study. 

3.  If  missions  succeed  we  must 
support  them  to  the  limit  of  our 
ability.  Support  means  far  more  than 
the  gift  of  money.  We  must  defend 
them  from  unfair  criticism,  commend 
them  by  informing  the  ignorant,  extend 
them  by  prayer,  by  gifts  and  by  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  our  whole  personality.  To  do 
this,  our  knowledge  of  missions  should 
be  accurate,  up-to-date,  interesting,  and 
completely  at  our  command.  Therefore, 
in  this  case  also,  we  must  study. 


The  challenge  is  the  same  to  the  op¬ 
ponents,  the  reformers  and  the  sup¬ 
porters  of  missions.  Study  is,  for  them 
all,  a  logical  necessity. 

Mission  Study  an  Intellectual 


The  complexity  of  the  subject  as  well 
as  its  importance  demands  study. 
Imagine  yourself  trying  to  understand 
mediaeval  history  without  a  knowledge  of 
its  great  religious  movements,  and  you 
will  not  make  the  same  blunder  about 
present-day  history.  Disregard  of  cur¬ 
rent  events,  even  though  they  be  re¬ 
ligious  events,  is  not  safe.  The  Asso¬ 
ciated  Press  brings  the  ends  of  the  earth 
to  our  breakfast  table.  Their  affairs 
have  become  ours  through  political  and 
commercial  development  until  we  can¬ 
not  afford  to  ignore  them. 


Mission  Study  a  Patriotic 


Necessity 


Oriental  coolies,  smuggled  opium,  the 
Philippine  policy,  the  sale  of  Indian 
lands,  the  Mormon  ^‘apostle’’  in  the 
Senate,  and  lynchings  in  the  South  and 
North  and  West  lead  straight  to  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  missions. 


4 


The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  can  rob 
race  contact  of  danger,  but  the  details 
of  applying  that  message,  even  to  a 
single  race,  are  complex.  Its  application 
to  many  competing  and  prejudiced 
races  is  far  more  difficult;  and  the  in¬ 
crease  of  race  contact  is  inevitable. 
Home  missionary  work  deals  not  only 
with  the  white  men  in  the  growing  west, 
but  with  the  Eskimo  race,  with  the 
multiplying  Indian  and  African  races, 
with  Spaniards,  Chinese,  Japanese, 
Malays  and  Hawaii ans.  These  present 
complicated  problems  worth  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  any  student. 

But  the  patriot  must  not  let  the 
words  ^ffiome”  and  ‘‘foreign”  blind  his 
eyes  to  China  and  Japan.  By  the  oc¬ 
cupation  of  Manila  we  brought  the 
United  States  400  miles  nearer  to  China 
than  is  Yokohama.  And  lest  we  take 
too  much  comfort  in  the  breadth  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  Dr.  Josiah  Strong  re¬ 
minds  us  that,  “A  21-knot  vessel  can 
steam  the  10,000  miles  from  Cape  Horn 
to  Yokohama,  the  longest  diameter  of 
the  Pacific,  in  twenty  days,  which  is  one- 
half  the  time  it  took  the  old  Greek  to 
go  from  Phoenicia  to  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules.” 

For  all  practical  purposes  this  makes 


5 


tlie  size  of  the  Pacific  half  that  of  the 
ancient  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  the  na¬ 
tions  around  it  twice  as  near  each  other. 
The  patriot  measures  the  earth  in  every 
direction,  notices  that  it  has  grown  very 
small,  and  makes  the  study  of  world 
problems  a  part  of  his  patriotism. 

Mission  Study  a  Spiritual 
Necessity 

When  intercommunication  forces  us 
into  race  contact  with  non- Christian  peo¬ 
ples,  their  touch  challenges  at  once  the 
reality  of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and 
the  brotherhood  of  man.  What  is  God’s 
relationship  and  ours  to  these  people? 

A  God  who  would  be  content  to  be 
monopolized  by  one- third  of  the  world’s 
population  to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest 
would  be  an  absurdity.  Even  the  man 
who  says  he  “does  not  believe  in  for¬ 
eign  missions”  would  lose  all  reverence 
for  such  a  Deity.  Entirely  apart  from 
the  example  of  Christ  and  without  His 
command  we  are  under  spiritual  com¬ 
pulsion  to  make  God’s  Kingdom  world¬ 
wide.  If  God  is  not  able  to  supply  the 
soul-craving  of  any  and  every  man  He 
is  less  than  our  ideal,  and  no  longer  our 
God. 

A  man  who  expects  to  monopolize  a 


6 


spiritual  truth  soon  finds  it  slipping 
from  his  comprehension.  If  we  are  not 
eager  to  share  with  every  man  our 
knowledge  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  we 
are  unworthy  to  he  His  children.  The 
story  that  once  there  was  a  native  con¬ 
vert  who  was  so  proud  to  be  the  only 
Christian  in  the  village  that  he  would 
not  allow  any  further  teaching  in  it,  is 
the  natural  invention  of  the  disbeliever 
in  missions,  who  is  himself  acting  on  the 
same  principle.  The  legend  is  its  own 
refutation,  for  such  a  native  would  no 
more  be  a  real  convert  than  the  disbe¬ 
liever  in  missions  is  a  real  Christian. 

But  do  the  facts  sustain  our  belief? 
Can  we  go  to  the  most  degraded  tribe 
on  earth,  to  the  worst  wretch  in  it,  and 
say  with  confidence,  ^‘My  God  shall 
supply  all  your  needs  according  to  the 
riches  of  His  glory  in  Christ  Jesus”? 
Mission  study  supplies  definite  proof 
that  we  can.  It  fills  the  mind 
with  modern,  concrete  instances  that 
dispel  doubts,  and  enable  each  of 
us  to  say  with  St.  Paul  in  the 
certainty  of  knowledge,  “I  am  not 
ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  for  it 
is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
every  one  that  believeth.” 


7 


Class  Organization  a  Necessity 
for  the  Average  Student 

Most  people,  if  their  study  is  to  be 
systematic  and  thorough,  require  three 
things:  (1)  Books,  including  a  com¬ 
prehensive  text-book,  and  a  number  of 
reference  books  at  a  low  price.  (2) 
Companionship  with  those  who  are  con¬ 
genial  and  united  in  the  desire  to  study 
the  subject.  (3)  Guidance  that  stim¬ 
ulates  and  draws  out  their  thought 
rather  than  their  memories.  It  secures 
free  expression  of  opinion,  and  before 
the  end  of  each  lesson  draws  from  the 
class  a  definite  conclusion  related  to  the 
aim  of  the  entire  course  of  study. 

Practically  this  means:  A  mission 
study  class  that  follows  one  of  the  offi¬ 
cial  courses  whose  large  adoption  makes 
possible  low  prices  for  text-books  and 
reference  library.  It  means,  also, 
a  class  that  has  the  typical  character¬ 
istics  of  a  limited  membership  of 
earnest  people,  a  devotional  and  studious 
spirit,  a  method  that  is  neither  recita¬ 
tion  nor  lecture,  but  an  informal  discus¬ 
sion  based  upon  a  common  knowledge 
of  the  facts  of  the  lesson  and  emiched 
by  the  results  of  individual  reading  in 
the  reference  library.  For  the  guid- 


8 


ance  of  leaders,  tlie  Mission  Study 
Manual  has  been  published,  explaining 
the  qualifications  and  development  of  a 
class  leader  and  the  way  to  organize  and 
conduct  the  classes.  Special  pamphlets 
have  also  been  prepared  for  teachers  of 
each  of  the  official  courses  which  show 
how  an  individuality  can  be  given  to 
each  lesson,  contributing  to  the  aim  of 
the  entire  course.  Summer  conferences 
are  held  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
for  the  express  purpose  of  training 
parish  and  diocesan  leaders  to  teach  the 
new  courses  recommended  for  the  com¬ 
ing  year.  Missionary  institutes  in  large 
metropolitan  centres  and  normal  mis¬ 
sion  study  classes  in  hundreds  of  cities 
apply  and  extend  this  training  during 
the  following  winter. 

The  Mission  Study  Class  a  Joy 

True,  it  reveals  forgetfulness  of 
spiritual  things  and  misdirected  energy, 
even  in  the  United  States,  which  our 
country  must  pay  for  in  the  future  by  a 
long  struggle  to  overtake  the  great  re¬ 
ligious  opportunities  that  have  slipped 
past  her.  It  is  also  true  that  the  study 
of  non-Christian  countries  discovers 
spiritual  and  physical  suffering  which 


9 


are  unparalleled.  The  study  of  mis¬ 
sions  in  our  cities  reveals  poverty  and 
crowding  and  slums;  but  the  study  of 
missions  in  foreign  countries  shows  us 
all  these  evils  without  the  relief  that 
comes  from  the  fruits  of  Christianity- — 
the  orphan  asylum,  the  almshouse,  the 
hospital  and  the  other  forms  of  char¬ 
itable  institutions.  We  see  the  suffer¬ 
ing  of  bereavement  where  there  is  little 
or  no  belief  in  a  personal  immortality, 
and  consequently  little  expectation  of  a 
future  meeting  with  friends  who  have 
died.  We  realize  as  never  before  what 
suffering  is  caused  by  tyranny  un¬ 
checked  by  the  restraints  of  Christian 
standards  and  laws.  And  we  become 
aware  of  the  spiritual  pain  of  strong 
men  who  are  trying  ‘ffo  live  up  to  their 
light”  without  the  help  of  the  compelling 
motive  of  love  and  loyalty  to  Christ. 

However,  if  the  mission  study  class 
showed  only  such  evils  their  contempla¬ 
tion  would  bring  us  useless  pain.  But 
when  a  deeper  study  shows  not  merely  in 
theory,  but  in  practical  application,  the 
power  of  God  to  reach  this  suffering  and 
supply  these  cravings  of  soul,  the  mis¬ 
sion  study  class  becomes  a  joy.  For  al¬ 
though  “the  dark  places  of  the  earth  are 
full  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty,”  “the 


10 


people  that  walked  in  darkness  have  seen 
a  great  light.”  The  clearest  vision 
given  by  the  study  class  and  its 
strongest  impressions,  are  not  that  of 
the  suffering  and  struggle  of  man,  but 
of  the  love  of  Almighty  God  and  His 
power  to  satisfy  man’s  soul.  Added  to 
this  comes  the  marvellous  revelation  that 
God  has  condescended  to  let  us  help 
Him.  We  are  not  limited  to  a  sight  of 
His  mercy;  we  can  become  part  of  it. 
We  enter  into  God’s  plan  for  the  world’s 
salvation  and  find  the  joy  of  the  confiict 
greater  than  the  joy  of  the  vision.  By 
becoming  part  of  the  conflict,  we  become 
the  companions  of  the  Christ;  and  en¬ 
tering  with  Him  into  the  depths  of 
human  suffering,  we  can  tread*  with  Him 
the  paths  of  heroism,  and  rise  with 
Him  to  spiritual  heights  otherwise  un¬ 
known.  When  we  are  reaching  out  with 
Him  to  teach  and  to  disciple  all  na¬ 
tions,  He  surprises  us  with  the  complete 
fulfilment  of  His  promise  to  be  with  us 
to  the  end  of  the  world.  The  vision  of 
the  distant  goal  is  made  concrete  by  vic¬ 
tories  in  the  approach  to  it.  And  we 
look  forward  with  the  joyful  knowledge 
that  when  the  end  is  reached  we  shall 
have  had  a  share  in  our  Master’s  fight 
that  won  the  final  triumph. 


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